The Connection Corner

A daily source of encouragement and inspiration to connect your heart to hope and faith.

Your Way is Better

Psalm 84:10 — A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.

He’s sitting in a coffee shop with his laptop open, but nothing is getting done.

Forrest Frank stares at a glowing screen while his mind runs ahead of him—unfinished assignments, rising expectations, a low-grade anxiety humming in the background. The music is off now. It isn’t helping. What he can’t ignore is the truth settling in his chest: he’s exhausted from trying to hold everything together.

Forrest grew up around church. Faith was familiar—songs, language, the rhythm of it all—but it never moved from his head to his life. By the time he reached Baylor University, confusion about belief followed him everywhere. College has a way of magnifying old insecurities. Comparison gets louder. Pressure builds. Everyone else looks like they know where they’re going, and Forrest feels stuck, spinning his wheels.

He tries to outrun the unease by staying busy, productive, impressive. But peace never comes. Sitting there with his coffee going cold, he realizes how tired he is of carrying the weight alone. The harder he tries to make life work on his terms, the heavier it feels.

That’s when the thought comes—quiet, inconvenient, easy to dismiss.

Go to church.

It’s a Wednesday night. This isn’t part of his plan. Still, he listens. He closes the laptop, leaves the coffee shop, and walks into a service without expecting anything to change.

People are singing. Hands are raised. Voices are imperfect but sincere. Forrest stands there unsure what he’s even hoping for.

But God meets him there.

The weight on his shoulders begins to lift. The tightness in his chest loosens. It feels like coming up for air after holding your breath too long. For the first time, insecurity doesn’t get the final word. He stops trying to manage everything himself and starts trusting God instead.

After the service, a woman he’s never met approaches him. She tells him she had a dream—one where Forrest is making music that points people back to God.

At the time, it doesn’t make sense. Forrest hasn’t written a single faith-centered song. Still, her words stay with him. That night becomes a turning point.

He keeps making music, but something has shifted. He obsesses over melody and structure, layering sound carefully, studying culture, blending hip-hop, pop, and gospel because he wants the music to be honest—not boxed in, not forced.

Success comes. Platforms grow. Opportunities open. But they’re no longer the goal. Surrender is. Letting God use what he creates becomes the point.

You can hear it in his song Your Way Is Better.

Forrest understood that all the options he chased—the good life, the right image, the next win—were never enough to quiet his soul. Just like the Psalmist who said “Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere.”

Most people have their own coffee shop moment—the place where the noise gets loud enough that surrender becomes an option. What happens next matters. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is listen, take one small, unplanned step toward God, and let Him reshape everything.

Because when you’re overwhelmed by the weight of trying to manage your own life, you discover that one moment in God’s presence is better than a thousand spent chasing everything else.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Where are you currently trying to hold everything together on your own?
What “thousand elsewhere” are you chasing that still hasn’t brought peace?
When was the last time you intentionally stepped into God’s presence without an agenda?
Is there a quiet nudge from God you’ve been dismissing because it wasn’t part of your plan?
What might change if you truly believed that one day with Him is better than any success without Him?

LYRICS:

[Verse 1]
When I’m overwhelmed within
From the weight of all my sin
I need a friend to call my own
I need a house to call my home
When I’m broken down inside
And there’s nowhere else to hide
I need a place where I feel known
Can someone help me?
Then I hear your reply
Bringing teardrops to my eyes
Saying I’m not alone

[Chorus]
Oh Lord, I need you now more than ever
Would you put my heart back together
I searched the world till my hеad hurt
Just to find out your way’s better
Oh-oh, your ways bettеr
Oh-oh, your ways better
Oh, Lord, your ways better
Jesus, your ways better

[Verse 2]
Lord, I am so thankful for the ways that you blessed me
Everything you say making waves like a jetski
You love every part of me, even when I was messy
Now I see the heart in your beauty
So, I can finally sing Jehovah-Jireh provider
Your way always gets me higher
Even on my darkest days, you’re a lighter
My Messiah

[Chorus: Forrest Frank & Choir]
Oh Lord, I need you now more than ever
Would you put my heart back together
I searched the world till my head hurt
Just to find out your way’s better
Oh-oh, your ways better
Oh-oh, your ways better
Oh, Lord, your ways better
Jesus (Mmm)
Lord, I need you now more than ever
Would you put my heart back together
I searched the world till my head hurt
Just to find out your way’s better
Oh-oh, your ways better
Oh-oh, your ways better
Oh, Lord, your ways better
Jesus, your ways better

[Outro]
Ohh-ohh, your ways better
Ohh-ohh, your ways better
Ohh-ohh, your ways better
Jesus, your ways better
It’s better, better, better
It’s better, better, better
It’s better, better, better
It’s better than the rest

LYRICS:

Better Is One Day
Verse 1
How lovely is Your dwelling place
O Lord almighty
For my soul longs and even faints for You
For here my heart is satisfied
Within Your presence
I sing beneath the shadow of Your wings

Chorus
Better is one day in Your courts
Better is one day in Your house
Better is one day in Your courts
Than thousands elsewhere
(Than thousands elsewhere)

Verse 2
One thing I ask and I would seek
To see Your beauty
To find You in the place
Your glory dwells
(REPEAT)

Bridge
My heart and flesh cry out
For You the living God
Your Spirit’s water to my soul
I’ve tasted and I’ve seen
Come once again to me
I will draw near to You
I will draw near to You to You

Bridge
Better is one day better is one day
Better is one day than thousands elsewhere
Better is one day better is one day
Better is one day than thousands elsewhere

Facedown
Chorus
And I’ll fall facedown
As Your glory shines around
Yes I’ll fall facedown
As Your glory shines around

Bridge
So let Your glory shine around
Let Your glory shine around
King of glory here be found
King of glory

Written by Matt Redman

February 22, 2026/by Brenda Price

Beauty from the Broken Places

Brenda Price, Daily Devotional

Psalm 145:14 — The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.

So, there is this story that I just love. It’s about an old a woman who carried two pots of water every day.

The first pot was solid and smooth, absolutely perfect. The other had a thin crack running down its side, and by the time she reached home, it would only be half full.

One day the cracked pot apologized.

“I am just so sorry for leaking.”

It can’t do what it was made to do. It expects correction. Maybe replacement. But instead, the woman smiles and points behind them.

“Don’t you see?” she exclaimed, “I planted seeds along your side of the path, and every day you watered them. Look at all these flowers.”

The pot then saw what she meant. Along the cracked pot’s side, flowers burst in vibrant colors everywhere, stretching toward the morning light. Life was spilling all over the dirt.

You know, God does the same thing with each and every one of us. He uses our cracks to water the world in ways we can’t even see. We can’t live in defeat when we make mistakes or when we can’t hold everything together.

That’s what Psalm 145:14 promises—that the Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads. He doesn’t throw away what feels cracked; He carries it. Not after we fix ourselves. Not once the bent or cracked places in our lives disappear.

He is the One lifting you each and helping you every day along your path, and somehow He is even using the broken parts of your story to bring life to others.

So don’t be ashamed of your scars. Don’t be ashamed of your brokenness. Use how God healed you to share those with people who need the glory of God and who need healing, empowerment, encouragement, and hope.

Keep walking and trusting that even now, life is growing along the path behind you.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Where in your life do you feel “cracked” or not enough right now?
Could it be possible that God is using that very weakness to bring life to someone else?
Are you living in quiet shame over something God has already redeemed?
What would it look like to trust that God lifts you even before you feel fully healed?
How might your story—especially the broken parts—become encouragement for someone walking behind you?

February 21, 2026/by Brenda Price

Red Bird Redemption

Daily Devotional, Kirstie Ford

2 Corinthians 3:17 — Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

It was a Sunday afternoon, and I found myself outside soaking up the sun. It was a beautiful, sunny day. The sun was shining brightly, but on the inside, gloomy was an understatement for how I felt.

You see, alcohol had a stronghold on me for nearly twelve years. The good news is our Savior is still in the business of saving, and His love is still reaching.

On that particular day, I found myself sitting outside with my head between my knees when something made me look up. Right in front of me was a red bird. It shocked me because cardinals weren’t common in my neighborhood. But there it was.

The world around me felt dull, but its bright red coloring was so vibrant—impossible to ignore. As a mom, it reminded me of a picture book I used to read my girls that reads, “Red bird, red bird, what do you see?” When I asked myself that question, the only answer I had was this.

It was something alive. The cardinal was something bright and bold and stunning, and it stood out so much against the heaviness I was carrying inside.

My youngest daughter, who was two years old at the time, walked up to me and asked, “Mommy, why are you so sad?” I thought to myself, “How did she know?” In that moment, I broke, and tears began flowing down my face.

After that day, I started noticing red birds everywhere. One on a fence post. Another at my grandma’s house. One more perched just long enough for me to really see it before flying away. At first, I brushed it off. But after a while, it became hard to ignore.

It began to dawn on me that the Holy Spirit was trying to get my attention, gently reminding me of what had already been set in motion that Sunday afternoon.

Looking back, I know the red bird wasn’t a coincidence, and its color wasn’t just a color. Curious, I looked up what red birds symbolize, and I learned that in Christian literature, the cardinal often represents the blood of Jesus, hope, and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

That truth settled deep in my soul. It was a reminder of Christ’s blood, poured out for me, covering every failure, every mistake, and every sin. It was as if God was showing me, in a way I could see and understand, that I wasn’t beyond redemption. His blood poured out for me on the cross secured my freedom—He didn’t want a sacrifice. He was the sacrifice. He wanted me to trust Him with all my heart and surrender to His will.

Scripture puts words to what my heart was learning to believe: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). Outside of that powerful truth, I don’t know how else to explain it. Freedom didn’t just mean the absence of alcohol—it meant the presence of the Spirit reshaping my life. That Sunday that was the last day alcohol would have a stronghold on my life. What I thought had me bound no longer had the final say.

Now, every time I see a red bird, I remember the moment I looked up and saw proof that God was with me—and that He still is. If you’ve ever struggled with addiction, or anything that makes you feel trapped with no way out, you understand the weight of guilt, shame, and regret. But here is the truth: God’s grace is bigger than our past, and His love is stronger than any of our failures. The enemy thought he had me, but Jesus said, “Nope—she’s mine!”

If you are reading this and feel like you are bound, with no way out, maybe today is an invitation to look up. You never know what God might be using to get your attention. You might just find hope—unexpected, unmistakable hope—in a way you least expect it.